Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown was arrested late Friday night for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol during an offseason trip to his hometown outside of Atlanta this weekend, two sources told The Miami Herald.

Brown, who has no previous arrest record, was arrested after an officer pulled him over for making a lane change without signaling, sources said.

He was released from jail early Saturday morning.

The Dolphins are aware of the situation, and they are continuing to monitor the legal process.

Brown is coming off a foot injury suffered late last season. He is also a restricted free agent but expected to stay with Miami.

Is the author of this article, Jeff Darlington, doubling as Brown’s Public Relations person? Read the following and make your own decision.

They are not believed to be overly upset with Brown because of his impeccable past as a player and a citizen.

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Brown is distraught over the arrest, and he has hired an attorney to help defend him in the case, the sources said. He did not perform well during the field-sobriety test, which contributed to the officer’s decision to arrest Brown, sources said. It remains possible the charges soon could be reduced to a traffic violation in the coming days.

Impeccable past as a player and a citizen. I thought this was a news article, not a press release by friends of Ronnie Brown. Jeff you are the leading candidate for this year’s kiss up award among the South Florida news media.

Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan will miss the 2010 season because of an elbow injury that will require surgery.

Nathan, who leads the major leagues with 246 saves since 2004, made the decision after playing catch with Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson for 10 minutes on Sunday.

Nathan hopes to have surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow within two weeks. He was injured on March 6 during a 20-pitch outing in a spring training game against the Boston Red Sox.

An elbow injury at Nathan’s age is career threatening. This will hurt the Twins also but I don’t know to what extent.

Wladimir Klitschko knocked out Eddie Chambers in the 12th and final round to retain his WBO and IBF heavyweight belts Saturday night.

The taller, heavier Klitschko dominated the fight and ended it with a left hook 5 seconds before the final bell. The American went down heavily and needed a couple of minutes to recover. The referee never bothered to count.

The 33-year-old Ukrainian improved to 53-3 and scored his 48th KO. Chambers lost for the second time in 37 fights.

Klitschko caught Chambers with a big right that nearly floored him late in the second round. Chambers staggered but survived the round by clinging onto Klitschko.

Otherwise, Klitschko jabbed his way through a largely dull fight, with Chambers mainly trying to limit the damage.

A dull fight. How many people in the United States viewed it? Most big title bouts are on Pay per view today and honestly while it is profitable for the sport, it also marginalizes boxing. Other than Manny Pacquiao, I can’t name a champion fighter in any weight division.(Another problem the sport has is- Too many champions. WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF etc) As a kid I watched plenty of title fights either in Network prime-time or the Wide World of Sports but those just aren’t done today. I’d follow the sport more if I didn’t have to pay $50 plus for 36 minutes of action.

He won 20 games for the 1956 Detroit Tigers and once was selected for the All-Star game. RIP.

From Baseball Library- Hoeft was a mainstay in the Tigers starting rotation in the 1950s, then embarked on a second career as an itinerant lefthanded reliever, changing teams six times between 1959 and 1966. He spent most of his rookie season in the Detroit bullpen, then struggled as a starter in 1953-54, winning only 16 games over the two seasons. In 1955 Hoeft was still only Detroit’s third starter in terms of starts and innings, but he led the AL with seven shutouts on his way to a 16-7, 2.99 record and a spot on the AL All-Star team. In 1956 Hoeft became the first Tiger lefthander since Hal Newhouser to win 20 games, posting a 20-14 mark, but after mediocre seasons in 1957-58, Hoeft returned to the bullpen for the balance of his career.

He was traded to the Red Sox for Ted Lepcio and Dave Sisler in May, 1959, then shipped to Baltimore for Jack Harshman six weeks later. Hoeft enjoyed his best seasons in relief with the Orioles, recording a 2.02 ERA in 1961 and four wins plus seven saves in 1962, then was traded to the Giants and later to the Braves, spending single seasons with each club. On July 14, 1957 Hoeft hit two of his three career home runs.

Camarero Race Track in Puerto Rico paid out $4.94 million to a single winner of its Poolpote, a pick six-type bet, on Monday, an amount that exceeds the record payout for a pick six in the U.S. but is only one-third of the record for the Poolpote in Puerto Rico.

Like the U.S. pick six, the Poolpote requires a bettor to pick the winner of six consecutive races. However, the Poolpote only pays out its full jackpot if a single bettor holds the winning ticket. If multiple bettors have winning tickets, a consolation payout is made, and the pool carries over.

According to Camarero, the winning ticket on Monday cost $10.30. The minimum wager for the bet is 35 cents.

The all-time record for a Poolpote payout was $14.2 million, distributed on March 7, 2007, which is believed to be a Western Hemisphere record for a horseracing payout. The winning bettor in that case purchased a $270 ticket. Later that year, a single winner won $6.2 million.

Some people bet hundreds or even thousands on Pick 6 tickets. Pete Rose got into tax evasion trouble when he had someone claim a Pick 6 for him when it was he and his associates who were the owners.

The Washington Nationals have sent top pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg to the minor leagues.

Strasburg was the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft and there had been a lot of speculation about where he would start this season. He was optioned to Double-A Harrisburg on Saturday.

The 21-year-old Strasburg has been the Nationals’ best pitcher in spring training. He made three starts and struck out 12 in nine innings. He was 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA.

I think Washington made the right move. Strasburg would bring fans to the ballpark, but it has been well documented, that pitchers rushed to the majors are much more likely to sustain some form of arm injury. Famous Baseball Manager Earl Weaver said the best place for a rookie pitcher, was long relief. I agree on both counts, while adding very few Hall of Famers had much impact as a rookie, Tom Seaver being the most notable exception. He won 16 games for a NY Mets team that lost over 100.

The former Miami Dolphin will be re-united with several coaches he was familiar with during his Pittsburgh Steeler days. From the Arizona Republic-

The Cardinals were successful in sacking opposing quarterbacks last season, but it often took creative schemes to get them there.

They are hoping the path in 2010 is more direct after agreeing to terms Friday with Joey Porter, one of the NFL’s better pass rushers over the past decade. Financial terms of the three-year deal were not available.

“There is no question we were able to generate sacks last year but we were doing it with blitzing,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “This gives us a guy who can win one-on-one matchups and allows us to rush with four (players). That’s a component we were missing to a degree.”

There were reasons, however, that Porter was available. He has played 11 seasons and turns 33 on Monday. He became a part-time player last season with the Dolphins and didn’t hide his displeasure over that development.

Essentially Arizona and Miami have exchanged inside linebackers. Porter signed with the Cardinals, Karlos Dansby signing with Miami. My opinion still stands- As I see it, Dansby replacing Porter is a big improvement. Dansby is as good or better, younger, and without JPâ€™s baggage.